3-Year-Old Not In Safety Seat Dies In Hanover Crash

Officers responded to a report of a vehicle collision on Ridge Road near Furnace Avenue around 8 p.m. Wednesday.

The vehicle was occupied by five passengers and the driver. All of the vehicle occupants sustained severe injuries.

A 3-year-old boy was seated on the lap of the center, rear passenger and not in a child safety seat. Joseph Eugene Sutherlin was transported to St Agnes Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.

All of the remaining vehicle occupants were transported by ambulance to the University of Maryland Hospital Shock Trauma Unit.

When officers arrived on scene they noticed the car lost control for an unknown reason and hit a tree.

Preliminary investigation determined that speed, reckless driving and driver error were contributing factors to the crash. Police say the severity of the injuries and the death of the child were the result of the non-usage of seat belts and a child safety seat.

This just teaches the importance of child saftey seats and responsible drivers education. Chrissy i’m sorry to hear your friend isn’t doing so well and i’m not blaming her at all the adults in the car should have taken control of the situation. but again i realize accidents do happen for no reason. I’m praying for all the survivors of this crash and the family of the child who lost his life.

Lets see you have a 3 year old who dont no right from wrong. You say that there was no adults in the car REALLY???? Well i think that it is bull that had to be someones 3 year old. So they should have been grown! They might of just been a teenagers butthey all new right from wrong. I hope everyone pulls through god bless them all.But this will stay with them for ever and i hope they think twice before getting into a car and not buckling up especially when it comes to another kid. They need to band little kids from 7 hills they just dont understand the speed limits the saftey hazards its getting out of control.

No it is the drivers fault because they should of never pulled off with the baby in the car like that. plus speed and reckless driving were apart of what caused the crash so to me that says thats ALL the driver’s fault

yes it is He is COMPLETELY resposible knowing he wasnt in a carseat and still gonna drive at that speed…..not to mention he knows how that road is and still gonna do that…GUILTY GUILTY GUILTY!!!!!….put him in jail for manslaughter…..

I have been thinking about the senseless tragidy since it happend. Can’t get that poor baby out of my head. Can you imagine how scared that little baby must have been!!! You can probably blame alot of people for this senseless accident but it will not change a thing. Hopefully the driver and everyone else in the car will learn something from this. I hope they all do well and I hope they can all cope with what will be a long stuggle of guilt over something that everyone of them could have stopped!!!!!!!

The driver is responsible for everyone in the car, and he should not have been speeding. I hold him fully responsible for the crash & partially responsible for killing a toddler. The 3 year old didn’t belong to anyone in the car, his mom wasn’t in the crash. Whoever was responsible for watching over him is also responsible for his death. A lot of stupid mistakes were made & unfortunately an innocent child had to die. I haven’t stopped thinking about the crash either because I know some of the people who were in the car. All of them should’ve known better than to put a child in the car without a safety seat. The driver & person/people responsible of the child now have to live with that on their conscience the rest of their lives. My heart goes out to Jojo’s parents & people who knew & loved him.

honestly i know the driver and if the people that were in the car knew him , they shouldnt bring a baby in the car with him. everybody knows how he is and why would you bring a child in the car with him. the driver asked for a baby seat. and the girl who was holding the baby had a child her own , so instead of putting her baby in risk ; she out someone elses baby in risk. also , the mom of the baby should’ve made sure that the child had a car seat and was in it.